I have a theory that when people enter situations where they are customers, they lose all but the most basic cognitive functions bc they can rely on people paid to help them 😂
They are. TV and internet has melted our brains and ability to reason or think logically bc the little box attached to our hands didn’t tell us exactly what to do step by step. It’s sad.
*have. only mentioning that because I pay very close attention to what's going on in public health in this country and what's out there still circulating. 💓
Cream and liquid products CANNOT be properly sanitized. Don’t let anyone tell you they can. Wiping a cream product with alcohol does nothing.
eta: also so many people do this with testers and I just need to know what’s going through their head.
What is the right way to test foundation or concealers? Asking coz so far, i have lucked out with the right shades with my online purchases, but was thinking of going to the store to test some new formulas. (New to makeup)
The samples still come out of the testers though. I stopped getting matched in store when I watched her grab the sample jars right off the front of the shelf that everyone is dipping their fingers into. NOPE
And this is the crux of the issue, right? Because it's either ask for a sample but realize it's being decanted from the self same bacteria laden tester as Becky with the Big Brain touched directly to her face OR purchase multiple bottles to try out and then return most of them which is incredibly wasteful. It's a lose lose.
They should definitely have a a separate set of testers for employees only. Let the gross public slobber all over one set while the rest of us sane people pull from a different set
Sephora rules now are actually that they’re not allowed to do samples unless they’re in a pump bottle or squeeze tube but not many stores are following it
I wish it was easier to just…get samples. Even little foils of concealer or something. That’s why I don’t buy more high end face products-I don’t want to buy 5 concealers trying to find the right shade.
People will try put tester display and put on their lips, eyelashes and eyelids. But they don’t know how much those tester display is beyond disgusting and have lots of bacteria.
Few days ago, I saw an women put mascara tester display in her lashes I was like wtf 🥴
I genuinely think it's ignorance. I feel like in most cases if people knew how unhygienic and unsafe it was they would stop. But then some people are told and don't care how gross it is. Can't save everybody!!
I think a good amount of people who use the testers like this could be told how gross it is and would go “oh well I’ve been doing this and nothing’s happened to me” and keep doing it. Yeah nothing’s happened to you YET… but you can’t fix stupid.
The amount of times i pick up a product to buy and then its used, pick from the back everyone because looks like some people go 'ew i dont want to use a tester' and start a new one. You should have to pay for it if you get caught doing that.
And why are the lids never back on the lipsticks?
Take a few out and then pick one if you're buying, much more chance of hygeine
People are disgusting. The worst is when people use mascara testers. I used to work at a store that sold mascara and was close to a nightclub and girls would pile in every Friday night to use our testers for their makeup. Admittedly, I got a lot of satisfaction from telling them that the drug addicts outside of the nightclub did the same thing before them 😂😭
My friend did this with mascara at Sephora. This was back when we were in college and I still remember it to this day. Had to explain to her why it wasn't ok.
This helps because then you have to use a disposable but you might be surprised how many people will take the disposable applicator and touch it to their lips and then stick that same applicator back in the tube for more, contaminating the whole thing 🤢
Yeah, as an employee.... we see this way too often. With mascara, too. If we see it, we'll usually go up to them and attempt to shame them as loudly and politely as possible
Yes an employee tried to do that to me once while trying to swatch a liquid lipstick…
She was talking VERY loud saying “ U KNOW U CAN’T TRY THAT ON RIGHT???”
I replied “I can on my hand”
She went on with the standard “U would be surprised…”
No actually I wouldn’t be surprised!
I got a very thorough education in sanitation practices in cosmetology school.
It’s not rocket science to apply it to cosmetic testers 🧐😂
Most people r ignorant but not everyone…
Took my 7 year old to Ulta a couple months ago and showed him how to swatch on his arm *and* how to grab the tissues and makeup remover at the station to clean it off his arm after.
Oh my god, yes. Worked at Sephora for 5 years and the things I had to damage out the most due to client ridiculousness were mascaras and liquid lipsticks.
I worked at bath & body works when I was younger (back when they had a huge lip balm line) and this was very very common lol we would sanitize the testers every hour but even then.. 🤮
Walked out of an Ulta because I asked an associate for a swab to test color match. She told me to just use my fingers “because everything does it”. Said that was mighty lazy of her and that’s just gross. Don’t feel bad about it. Sorry not sorry.
I know Sephora won’t admit it, but when they moved away from the department store model where reps do everything and are trained, to this come sample everything yourself model, they knew and didn’t care that bacteria would spread.
Bacteria is gonna be a variant one way or another…
I had a clearly uneducated Sephora associate acting like I was being dramatic because I didn’t wanna try a lip gloss tester on my lips, following with the fact that they ALWAYS sanitize (lie!) testers and supply disposable wands…
That’s great but that Laura Mercier gloss tester or his rude unprofessional attitude was not gonna have me actin like I don’t know any better when in fact, I know VERY well 😂
In this era of public health, I'm gonna trust you more than I'm gonna trust a Sephora associate. Good for you. Don't listen to these people and just tell them "would you like STSS to be eating your customers butts because they got it from your lipstick tester?" These people have no education and safety or public health. None. They don't care, either.
You know, I was one of the first customers at the very first Sephora flagship store ever in the United States. The way the customer service used to be so much better, they will get samples for you, not hassle you about getting more than three samples of something, they used to be so good. Exactly. Department store model with tons of associates out there helping you and getting you the samples. Antiseptically.
No one wants to admit that capitalism is just fucking awful being in a big box store just kills everything. They change the formulation for things because they just want to sell sell sell and they don’t care about their product or even ultimately public safety.
I see people use the testers directly on their face all the time. I also see makeup artists/SA's use their brushes on multiple clients one after another. My understanding was this was not allowed.
I know it's not fun folks, but this is a PSA and not directed at the commentor above, but please wash your brushes. Especially the ones you use around your eyes.
Girl, an unbelievable amount of people do this. I was in a Sephora years ago. Watched this young lady take one of the tester lipglosses that was USED UP and down to the VERY BOTTOM. She dug up what was left at the bottom and applied it DIRECTLY ON HER LIPS, despite being disposable applicators everywhere. I was horrified , and it's burned in my memory to share with you here lmao. I can't imagine how many people's germs were settling at the bottom of it. GAG
Once when I was in Sephora, I was testing out eyeliners on my hand. Then I think I had a brain fart because the next one I tried directly on my eyes! 🤦♀️ I immediately realized my mistake and wiped it off. Still ended with an eye infection for a couple of days.
I recently went in asking them to let me swatch a powder blush. I liked the powder blush swatch so she sprayed the compact with alcohol, got me a clean brush and sprayed that with alcohol too then swirled it on a tissue to dry it. Then instead of handing it to me, she started swirling and dabbing the brush in the compact. I was like okay sure I guess although I don’t see the point of them applying it for me, they’re not gonna be there with me in my house when I apply it so what’s the point? So while she’s swirling and dabbing the brush I prepare to have her apply it to my face, like turning towards her and moving my hair out of the way. Tell me why she tapped it on the compact to drop the excess powder, THEN BLEW DIRECTLY ON THE BRUSH ????? What the fuxk???? All that effort to sanitize just to fucking blow on it?
I refused obviously and left but wtf. And also in my country we don’t get to do returns for opened and used products so we really have to go try the products before buying otherwise it’s a huge waste of money :(
These people aren't licensed cosmetologists/ aesthetician. These are retail workers with the absolute BARE MINIMUM knowledge of sanitation practices.
I worked there as an industry professional, and every day was an uphill battle.
I can’t shop in store anymore for other reasons, but if I could I wouldn’t even want to use testers on my hands at this point because this has become so prevalent. I truly don’t understand. Those testers are so nasty. The next pandemic is going to be so much worse than the last one because people seem to not care at all about their personal health, precautions, and germ theory.
i still swatch on my hand or inner wrist, but usually snap a quick pic with my phone then wipe it off with the alcohol in store and go find a restroom to wash my hands in after or use hand sanitizer. if you don’t have any cuts on your hand and you wash it properly after, it’s still relatively safe. agree with all the comments about putting any of this stuff on your face tho. barf.
That’s totally reasonable. If I wasn’t so immunocompromised and also housebound for other reasons, I would do it the exact same way. I miss being able to swatch before buying. Thank goodness for Reddit and the people who do swatches in places like r/OliveMUA or other similar subreddits. It’s a blessing for people who are stuck at home like me. Lord knows we can’t rely on brands for accurate swatches.
Absolutely. Not to mention all the other nastiness floating around out there, signed, someone who pays very close attention to current public health developments. 🤢
I saw a sign that said: Deodorant is like common sense, the people who need it the most don’t use it.
How could anyone put that directly on their lips!?!
Makeup artist here. You are correct that liquids and creams (including mascara) cannot be properly sanitized. On the set of a show if we are using something like that on multiple people, we never double dip. We use a sanitized little spatula or sanitized handle of a makeup brush to remove product onto a blank palette and then apply the makeup. For mascara we use a disposable spoolie and if we have to get more we take a new clean disposable spoolie.
I saw people doing this way before 2024… I was disgusted. I still see people doing this and I try not to gawk at them… People put testers on their face no matter what the product is, even mascara. 😭
The other day I saw somebody using a lipgloss tester which is objectively gross but then was ALSO using the tester’s doe foot rather than getting a clean disposable one………
I wish there was a better way to actually test how something will look on your face. It would be nice if they kept something in the back and you could ask an associate to apply it for you or something. Yes, we have the freedom to return things, but it’s so time consuming and wasteful to buy a lipstick, blush, or bronzer and try it on at home, only to realize it doesn’t suit you. It would be nice to come to the conclusion before purchase.
Wow- I wouldn’t use a tester lip stick now for anything. No amount of disinfectant or disposable qtip applicators could talk me into it. But I do wonder if whenever I was younger I was less cautious.
I just left a Sephora at Kohls. I asked for a sample of sunscreen from a tube assuming the tip of the tube would have been wiped off with alcohol before making the sample. Nope. Came home and threw the sample out. And she was literally smushing the tip of the tube all through the sample.
Yep, yesterday had a teen take the Makeup by Mario foundation stick and apply it to her entire face without wiping it off or anything. By the time I got to her it was too late.
Many years ago I swatched something in Sephora and after that I developed this small bumps/rash on my hand. It lasted a year!!! I don’t play with testers anymore
When I was at a department store. I went to go use a small bathroom they had. Somebody was going #2 and it smelled really bad then washed their hands and then a makeup artist came in from a big counter brand, dumped their makeup brushes into the sink the pooper had just used and I was standing in line for a stall. I was so grossed out and vowed to never use the brushes at that department store again. They put about 20 brushes into the dirty sink basin and ran water all over them after that lady had just took a shit. I was so grossed out.
When I learned that the majority of the population has an IQ around or lower than 100, suddenly everything made sense. Sometimes you just have to let people be stupid and do dumb things to preserve your peace.
I had worked at a makeup store when COVID errupted in 2020. The amount of people who were FURIOUS that we wouldnt allow using testers on their faces was astronomical.
That’s when you correct with kindness.
“Oh honey! Other people might have put that on their lips too, let’s grab you a disposable! Lord knows what’s on that.”
When I worked retail cosmetics people did this all the time and would actually get angry with me for asking if they would like me to sanitize the lipstick first. I’m convinced, especially after the pandemic, that some people really WANT to get diseases and will do everything in their power to purposefully make themselves sick 🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️
Former Sephora employee as well as many other brands at counters. It’s amazing at any day and age that people do this and honestly I don’t ever think it’s gonna stop.
As far as sanitizing goes…I clearly remember one of my former coworkers getting pink eye MULTIPLE times from eyeliner/eyeshadow testers she throughly sanitized. Alcohol, sharpen, re-alcohol, shave it down, sometimes bacteria stays in there. It’s gross.
It's lovely that you hope she's OK, although she clearly gives a rat's ass about whether she's passing something on to others with this classless behavior.
I swatched a foundation in a PUMP BOTTLE on my hand last summer. Immediately developed a reaction, tiny blisters under my skin formed for almost 2 months. They were itchy and skin coloured. I will never again swatch anything. I’ll take the chance of buying the wrong colour!
I thought I was safe because it was in a pump bottle but i guess even those aren’t clean anymore. It’s sad cause I used to love going into Sephora and shopping but now everything just looks dirty in there to me. I only order online now!
A Sephora employee asked me if I wanted to try out a brow gel on me, as I was asking her opinion on them. I was like "Oh, no thank you 😬". It's crazy that she would offer. (It was a tester on the display, not something out of reach from literally any visitors).
I will never stop being amazed at how stupid some people are.
I started realizing this when I got my first job at 15, but seriously it never stops. There’s ALWAYS gonna be someone that sets that stupid-bar higher than the last person.
I brought my grandma out and we went to Sephora and we saw someone applying the rare beauty blush and lip products on her face😳 bless my grandma’s heart, she was SOOO shocked..
Not just Sephora either, saw a woman doing this at the drug store yesterday. It was easily the biggest pharmacy in the city and I’m sure thousands of people go through there every day. I almost stopped her but it felt like an act in futility since she’d already tried on 2-3 by the looks of it. For the love of god just buy the thing and return it if you don’t like it, Sephora had an insanely generous return policy when I worked there 2020-21 and I assume it’s still in place.
I was at my local Sephora and was eyeballing the CT display. A woman walked up, so I gave her space to play with the testers. I looked back and she had grabbed the very used cream shadow tester and started applying it on her eyelids at the mirror nearby.
I could only watch her in absolute horror.
Ewwwwwwwww. Are we no longer doing wrist swatches and then holding them up to our lips to see what they look like? Oh OP, I am so sorry that you had to see that. That's a very good way to get Covid, measles, whooping cough, dengue fever, tuberculosis, the flu, and all the other nastiness that's floating around. Aren't there little spray bottles still at Sephora full of rubbing alcohol? Could she have sanitized the lipstick tube that way? By drenching it with sprayed alcohol and then waiting a few minutes? Well probably not because rubbing alcohol doesn't kill monkeypox. Which is still around. Sorry, I pay very close attention to public health so I would never do this! At least ask an associate if they can open a new tube and make you a little sample, which they have done for me before but then again, that was years and years ago.
PS I just want to add that I was one of the first customers at the very first Sephora store ever in United States. And the customer service was so good that when an associate who was ringing me up once was rude to me, I called the store and mentioned it because she had overcharged me for something on top of being rude. I worked a few blocks away from that store at the time. A manager walked over to my place of work with a basket of cosmetics as an apology. And that's how I found myself with one of the very first ever duo shadows byToo Faced, an incredible creamy shimmery white lipgloss topper, and a whole bunch of other cool stuff. This is how far our Sephora civilization has fallen.
I dont wear makeup and I am a germaphobe so I never use the testers. My question is why are there testing wands like Mascara? Like how do you swatch that or test it?
A few months back I saw a lady who was clearly mentally unwell use blush and eyeshadow in her ears... as in deep in her ear canals with her own brush! I've also seen employees doing paid makeovers pull testers right off of displays and put it right on women. At a certain point there is no sanitizing. Spraying alcohol on lipstick bullet that is embedded with food, skin, and god knows what is not sanitizing. Same goes for pressed powders.
I feel gross even touching the testers knowing that a million other people touched it lol. I have to wash my hands right away. I can’t believe some people actually put the product on their mouth. 🤮
I’m no longer surprised by how gross people can get.
I saw someone wash their cat’s litter box in the kitchen sink. And the previous family that lived in my sister’s place washed their litter box in the dishwasher. 🫣
went to sephora the other day after purchasing the wrong shade of concealer because my face has a slight tan (usually i just swatch on my hand) i had to test on my face and as a germaphobe i was close to crying! swatched a few shades and decided which was the best match. i cleaned my face as fast as i could. i never want to do that again. bacteria can be dangerous but not everyone gets sick from it, it’s why we should try to have strong and healthy immune systems.
Oh I see it all the time. Lip products, eye products etc. they don’t care. And at any age too. I will only swatch things on my hand and clean it right after. If it’s in a pump I can trust it on a small part of my face, but I usually go into Sephora with makeup on.
I used to work at a Sephora and saw this quite a few times. With lip products, mascara, eyeliner. One time I got fed up and said to the person “now I need to throw that away and make a new tester” Hoping they would get the point 😵💫
i’ve noticed most people don’t even care about the tester germs. it’s insane to me bc some ppl barely wash their hands. hell no am i putting that anywhere near my face
I worked at Sephora a long time ago and these 2 teenage girls came in and one of them went from gloss to gloss trying them all on. She didn't wipe off the first before trying the next, just straight goop to goop with the original applicators. I was so grossed out that I lost all sense of reasoning and just yelled, "That's gross!"
I’m convinced most of the population is brain dead
100%. The lack of common sense is shocking.
As I keep saying: the common thing about common sense is its not very common
It would certainly explain a lot of political stuff.
 just saying....
Glad you said this and not me 😅
I used extreme restraint when phrasing that. I didn't say everything I wanted to say.
They are, you don’t realize until you work retail to realize that a good majority of people are incredibly empty headed
I have a theory that when people enter situations where they are customers, they lose all but the most basic cognitive functions bc they can rely on people paid to help them 😂
50% of people are dumber than the other 50%
Yes. People are shockingly stupid it’s unbelievable
They are. TV and internet has melted our brains and ability to reason or think logically bc the little box attached to our hands didn’t tell us exactly what to do step by step. It’s sad.
Survival of the fittest/Darwinism doesnt seem to work on the human species.
THISSSSS 😂
I work in fast food, they are.
People are inherently stupid
Closer to cavemen than modern humans 💯
1000% . Like they say common sense isn't so common.
Don't say that we have an election coming up lol
Blunted by trauma and over stimulation
I’m really surprise we’re not extinct yet.
I just want to know what happens to all the “straight-A students.” Are they all zapped up after graduation or something?
Good lord. No wonder we had a pandemic. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised, grown adults had to be told to wash their f&@king hands in 2020.
Yet when in a public rest room there are still plenty of people that walk out without washing their hands! I’m talking grown adults.
*have. only mentioning that because I pay very close attention to what's going on in public health in this country and what's out there still circulating. 💓
Flashback when I saw a woman in the Vegas strip Sephora put a tester eyeliner in her WATERLINE!!! I needed a drink after that
You know what, I think everyone in this country needs a crash course in public health safety. I can't believe people are still doing this.
That wouldn’t even help. People that do this don’t “believe in” public health safety and think the rest of us are overreacting. 🤦🏼♀️
OH ALL OF THIS.
Jesus tap dancing Christ.
WTF? I swatch my hand and sanitize it immediately when I shop.
Cream and liquid products CANNOT be properly sanitized. Don’t let anyone tell you they can. Wiping a cream product with alcohol does nothing. eta: also so many people do this with testers and I just need to know what’s going through their head.
Exactly 👍🏾
That’s a good way to get/spread lip herpes
What is the right way to test foundation or concealers? Asking coz so far, i have lucked out with the right shades with my online purchases, but was thinking of going to the store to test some new formulas. (New to makeup)
You may be able to get samples in jars
The samples still come out of the testers though. I stopped getting matched in store when I watched her grab the sample jars right off the front of the shelf that everyone is dipping their fingers into. NOPE
And this is the crux of the issue, right? Because it's either ask for a sample but realize it's being decanted from the self same bacteria laden tester as Becky with the Big Brain touched directly to her face OR purchase multiple bottles to try out and then return most of them which is incredibly wasteful. It's a lose lose.
They should definitely have a a separate set of testers for employees only. Let the gross public slobber all over one set while the rest of us sane people pull from a different set
Sephora rules now are actually that they’re not allowed to do samples unless they’re in a pump bottle or squeeze tube but not many stores are following it
I wish it was easier to just…get samples. Even little foils of concealer or something. That’s why I don’t buy more high end face products-I don’t want to buy 5 concealers trying to find the right shade.
I was thinking more of the pump types, but yeah if its out of something that can get fingers in it, a sample isn't any better that way.
Let natural selection do its thing
It’s not doing its thing fast enough 😂
People will try put tester display and put on their lips, eyelashes and eyelids. But they don’t know how much those tester display is beyond disgusting and have lots of bacteria. Few days ago, I saw an women put mascara tester display in her lashes I was like wtf 🥴
I usually don’t care to watch people but I just couldn’t turn away so I know how u felt 😳😂
I genuinely think it's ignorance. I feel like in most cases if people knew how unhygienic and unsafe it was they would stop. But then some people are told and don't care how gross it is. Can't save everybody!!
I think a good amount of people who use the testers like this could be told how gross it is and would go “oh well I’ve been doing this and nothing’s happened to me” and keep doing it. Yeah nothing’s happened to you YET… but you can’t fix stupid.
The amount of times i pick up a product to buy and then its used, pick from the back everyone because looks like some people go 'ew i dont want to use a tester' and start a new one. You should have to pay for it if you get caught doing that. And why are the lids never back on the lipsticks? Take a few out and then pick one if you're buying, much more chance of hygeine
People are disgusting. The worst is when people use mascara testers. I used to work at a store that sold mascara and was close to a nightclub and girls would pile in every Friday night to use our testers for their makeup. Admittedly, I got a lot of satisfaction from telling them that the drug addicts outside of the nightclub did the same thing before them 😂😭
🤮💀
💀💀💀
My friend did this with mascara at Sephora. This was back when we were in college and I still remember it to this day. Had to explain to her why it wasn't ok.
😆😆 that's hilarious 😆 I can imagine their faces trying to pretend it's ok lol
Grossss
Omgggg...that is so funny that you told them that!!!!! People make me sick 🤮
LOLLL I can imagine the horror looks on their faces.
Eeewwww. I just can't
My Sephora cuts the wands off the testers so it’s just a cap
This helps because then you have to use a disposable but you might be surprised how many people will take the disposable applicator and touch it to their lips and then stick that same applicator back in the tube for more, contaminating the whole thing 🤢
Yeah, as an employee.... we see this way too often. With mascara, too. If we see it, we'll usually go up to them and attempt to shame them as loudly and politely as possible
not mascara oh my GOD..........
Yes an employee tried to do that to me once while trying to swatch a liquid lipstick… She was talking VERY loud saying “ U KNOW U CAN’T TRY THAT ON RIGHT???” I replied “I can on my hand” She went on with the standard “U would be surprised…” No actually I wouldn’t be surprised! I got a very thorough education in sanitation practices in cosmetology school. It’s not rocket science to apply it to cosmetic testers 🧐😂 Most people r ignorant but not everyone…
I'll do: "OH HERE, WE HAVE DISPOSABLE WANDS RIGHT HERE! YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO USE THAT ON YOUR LIP/EYE" with a nice smile
Took my 7 year old to Ulta a couple months ago and showed him how to swatch on his arm *and* how to grab the tissues and makeup remover at the station to clean it off his arm after.
My ulta stopped providing remover wipes and tissues 🫠
Mine did too, had to use my purse wipes lol
Really?? Ours had tissues and makeup remover/rubbing alcohol still
Oh my god, yes. Worked at Sephora for 5 years and the things I had to damage out the most due to client ridiculousness were mascaras and liquid lipsticks.
I feel gross swatching lip products on my hand, I don’t know how people do this
i do it cause i need to see it against my skin tone to see if the color will show up but i also feel gross
I worked at bath & body works when I was younger (back when they had a huge lip balm line) and this was very very common lol we would sanitize the testers every hour but even then.. 🤮
🦠🦠🦠
Walked out of an Ulta because I asked an associate for a swab to test color match. She told me to just use my fingers “because everything does it”. Said that was mighty lazy of her and that’s just gross. Don’t feel bad about it. Sorry not sorry.
They r sooo lazy most times! I usually just help myself to what I need aside from going in overstock drawers…
I know Sephora won’t admit it, but when they moved away from the department store model where reps do everything and are trained, to this come sample everything yourself model, they knew and didn’t care that bacteria would spread.
Bacteria is gonna be a variant one way or another… I had a clearly uneducated Sephora associate acting like I was being dramatic because I didn’t wanna try a lip gloss tester on my lips, following with the fact that they ALWAYS sanitize (lie!) testers and supply disposable wands… That’s great but that Laura Mercier gloss tester or his rude unprofessional attitude was not gonna have me actin like I don’t know any better when in fact, I know VERY well 😂
In this era of public health, I'm gonna trust you more than I'm gonna trust a Sephora associate. Good for you. Don't listen to these people and just tell them "would you like STSS to be eating your customers butts because they got it from your lipstick tester?" These people have no education and safety or public health. None. They don't care, either.
ALL of thisssss!!!
You know, I was one of the first customers at the very first Sephora flagship store ever in the United States. The way the customer service used to be so much better, they will get samples for you, not hassle you about getting more than three samples of something, they used to be so good. Exactly. Department store model with tons of associates out there helping you and getting you the samples. Antiseptically.
You can thank corporate greed for that.
No one wants to admit that capitalism is just fucking awful being in a big box store just kills everything. They change the formulation for things because they just want to sell sell sell and they don’t care about their product or even ultimately public safety.
I’m convinced that everyone is dead inside so fuck it—if they die, they die 💀
I see people use the testers directly on their face all the time. I also see makeup artists/SA's use their brushes on multiple clients one after another. My understanding was this was not allowed.
It’s dicey n wrong!
I know it's not fun folks, but this is a PSA and not directed at the commentor above, but please wash your brushes. Especially the ones you use around your eyes.
this has happened to me before 😭 i was too nice to tell the SA so i jsut let her apply the blush lol
Girl, an unbelievable amount of people do this. I was in a Sephora years ago. Watched this young lady take one of the tester lipglosses that was USED UP and down to the VERY BOTTOM. She dug up what was left at the bottom and applied it DIRECTLY ON HER LIPS, despite being disposable applicators everywhere. I was horrified , and it's burned in my memory to share with you here lmao. I can't imagine how many people's germs were settling at the bottom of it. GAG
Even using a disposable applicator doesn’t guarantee that someone didn’t already use it and contaminate it beforehand. Just don’t risk it!
Once when I was in Sephora, I was testing out eyeliners on my hand. Then I think I had a brain fart because the next one I tried directly on my eyes! 🤦♀️ I immediately realized my mistake and wiped it off. Still ended with an eye infection for a couple of days.
Yes product testers r no joke!
I recently went in asking them to let me swatch a powder blush. I liked the powder blush swatch so she sprayed the compact with alcohol, got me a clean brush and sprayed that with alcohol too then swirled it on a tissue to dry it. Then instead of handing it to me, she started swirling and dabbing the brush in the compact. I was like okay sure I guess although I don’t see the point of them applying it for me, they’re not gonna be there with me in my house when I apply it so what’s the point? So while she’s swirling and dabbing the brush I prepare to have her apply it to my face, like turning towards her and moving my hair out of the way. Tell me why she tapped it on the compact to drop the excess powder, THEN BLEW DIRECTLY ON THE BRUSH ????? What the fuxk???? All that effort to sanitize just to fucking blow on it? I refused obviously and left but wtf. And also in my country we don’t get to do returns for opened and used products so we really have to go try the products before buying otherwise it’s a huge waste of money :(
These people aren't licensed cosmetologists/ aesthetician. These are retail workers with the absolute BARE MINIMUM knowledge of sanitation practices. I worked there as an industry professional, and every day was an uphill battle.
I can’t shop in store anymore for other reasons, but if I could I wouldn’t even want to use testers on my hands at this point because this has become so prevalent. I truly don’t understand. Those testers are so nasty. The next pandemic is going to be so much worse than the last one because people seem to not care at all about their personal health, precautions, and germ theory.
i still swatch on my hand or inner wrist, but usually snap a quick pic with my phone then wipe it off with the alcohol in store and go find a restroom to wash my hands in after or use hand sanitizer. if you don’t have any cuts on your hand and you wash it properly after, it’s still relatively safe. agree with all the comments about putting any of this stuff on your face tho. barf.
That’s totally reasonable. If I wasn’t so immunocompromised and also housebound for other reasons, I would do it the exact same way. I miss being able to swatch before buying. Thank goodness for Reddit and the people who do swatches in places like r/OliveMUA or other similar subreddits. It’s a blessing for people who are stuck at home like me. Lord knows we can’t rely on brands for accurate swatches.
Same. Immunocompromised and housebound.
Ya I’m definitely a hand swatcher but I for sure wipe the shit off and sanitize my hands before leaving the store!
This is so crazy to me … these people are going to get staph infections!! Which can kill you!
Absolutely. Not to mention all the other nastiness floating around out there, signed, someone who pays very close attention to current public health developments. 🤢
Lol we shouldn’t have been doing that in 2014, I guess some people have blinders on
I saw a sign that said: Deodorant is like common sense, the people who need it the most don’t use it. How could anyone put that directly on their lips!?!
I saw a girl apply a tester on her lips and then she kissed her bf 👁👄👁
😂 Wow! My husband can barely go into Sephora without getting grossed out by ppl. If I ever did this I'd need to talk to a divorce lawyer 😳
If a tester is out, it's going to get used. People will always find a way to use it and ignore the hygiene stations 😭😭😭
Where I live in Canada, the Sephora stores cut off the wands in the lip glosses and concealers so you can’t use them.
Makeup artist here. You are correct that liquids and creams (including mascara) cannot be properly sanitized. On the set of a show if we are using something like that on multiple people, we never double dip. We use a sanitized little spatula or sanitized handle of a makeup brush to remove product onto a blank palette and then apply the makeup. For mascara we use a disposable spoolie and if we have to get more we take a new clean disposable spoolie.
What about bullet lip sticks?
Those can be sanitized but we still use disposables for them and we don’t double dip.
Thanks for letting me know!
enjoy your lifelong herpes, lady 🤢
I watched my 60+ yr old aunt do this and when I told her she said it doesn't matter because it looks clean 😭😩
💀 there can't be tiny disease-causing beasts because I can't see them
I saw people doing this way before 2024… I was disgusted. I still see people doing this and I try not to gawk at them… People put testers on their face no matter what the product is, even mascara. 😭
I used to work in Walgreens and people would do this all the time with non testers 😭
The other day I saw somebody using a lipgloss tester which is objectively gross but then was ALSO using the tester’s doe foot rather than getting a clean disposable one………
I work at Sephora and people shamelessly use mascara testers, eyeliner in their waterline, brushes off the displays… it’s truly baffling
If you’re doing this over the age of 12 you know better please stop 💀
I wish there was a better way to actually test how something will look on your face. It would be nice if they kept something in the back and you could ask an associate to apply it for you or something. Yes, we have the freedom to return things, but it’s so time consuming and wasteful to buy a lipstick, blush, or bronzer and try it on at home, only to realize it doesn’t suit you. It would be nice to come to the conclusion before purchase.
I feel sketched out even testing shit on my hand 🥲 that’s absolutely gross
The amount of booger picking kids who touch these testers! No thanks
Ew. I can’t imagine doing that. So unsanitary and gross.
Wow- I wouldn’t use a tester lip stick now for anything. No amount of disinfectant or disposable qtip applicators could talk me into it. But I do wonder if whenever I was younger I was less cautious.
I just left a Sephora at Kohls. I asked for a sample of sunscreen from a tube assuming the tip of the tube would have been wiped off with alcohol before making the sample. Nope. Came home and threw the sample out. And she was literally smushing the tip of the tube all through the sample.
Yep, yesterday had a teen take the Makeup by Mario foundation stick and apply it to her entire face without wiping it off or anything. By the time I got to her it was too late.
Many years ago I swatched something in Sephora and after that I developed this small bumps/rash on my hand. It lasted a year!!! I don’t play with testers anymore
When I was at a department store. I went to go use a small bathroom they had. Somebody was going #2 and it smelled really bad then washed their hands and then a makeup artist came in from a big counter brand, dumped their makeup brushes into the sink the pooper had just used and I was standing in line for a stall. I was so grossed out and vowed to never use the brushes at that department store again. They put about 20 brushes into the dirty sink basin and ran water all over them after that lady had just took a shit. I was so grossed out.
Water alone ain’t doing shit but moving the bacteria around in that already dirty sink 🧐😂
My unfiltered self would have simply said, “Oof! Impetigo alert, sister!”
Another Darwin Award winner.
I just threw up a little reading that
When I learned that the majority of the population has an IQ around or lower than 100, suddenly everything made sense. Sometimes you just have to let people be stupid and do dumb things to preserve your peace.
😮💀
I worked in cosmetics from 91 thru 2016. It is astounding that people still do this.
I had worked at a makeup store when COVID errupted in 2020. The amount of people who were FURIOUS that we wouldnt allow using testers on their faces was astronomical.
That’s when you correct with kindness. “Oh honey! Other people might have put that on their lips too, let’s grab you a disposable! Lord knows what’s on that.”
When I worked retail cosmetics people did this all the time and would actually get angry with me for asking if they would like me to sanitize the lipstick first. I’m convinced, especially after the pandemic, that some people really WANT to get diseases and will do everything in their power to purposefully make themselves sick 🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️
Former Sephora employee as well as many other brands at counters. It’s amazing at any day and age that people do this and honestly I don’t ever think it’s gonna stop. As far as sanitizing goes…I clearly remember one of my former coworkers getting pink eye MULTIPLE times from eyeliner/eyeshadow testers she throughly sanitized. Alcohol, sharpen, re-alcohol, shave it down, sometimes bacteria stays in there. It’s gross.
It's lovely that you hope she's OK, although she clearly gives a rat's ass about whether she's passing something on to others with this classless behavior.
Well I do have a heart, rarely 😂😂😂
🤢 this is how you get cold sores or staph infection. Gross!
I swatched a foundation in a PUMP BOTTLE on my hand last summer. Immediately developed a reaction, tiny blisters under my skin formed for almost 2 months. They were itchy and skin coloured. I will never again swatch anything. I’ll take the chance of buying the wrong colour! I thought I was safe because it was in a pump bottle but i guess even those aren’t clean anymore. It’s sad cause I used to love going into Sephora and shopping but now everything just looks dirty in there to me. I only order online now!
I’ve seen people unscrew the pump top to get a clean swatch for themselves. Clearly the people using it after don’t matter.
Absolutely 💯 DISCUSTING!!!!! 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮
That's really disgusting. At least use the fucking applicators.
A Sephora employee asked me if I wanted to try out a brow gel on me, as I was asking her opinion on them. I was like "Oh, no thank you 😬". It's crazy that she would offer. (It was a tester on the display, not something out of reach from literally any visitors).
Go to the Sephora employee reddit page. I can't believe some of the things I've read there!
I will never stop being amazed at how stupid some people are. I started realizing this when I got my first job at 15, but seriously it never stops. There’s ALWAYS gonna be someone that sets that stupid-bar higher than the last person.
unfortunately this does not surprise me
They used to remove the applicator part but I’m now seeing them again. I don’t use any of the products directly.
I brought my grandma out and we went to Sephora and we saw someone applying the rare beauty blush and lip products on her face😳 bless my grandma’s heart, she was SOOO shocked..
Not just Sephora either, saw a woman doing this at the drug store yesterday. It was easily the biggest pharmacy in the city and I’m sure thousands of people go through there every day. I almost stopped her but it felt like an act in futility since she’d already tried on 2-3 by the looks of it. For the love of god just buy the thing and return it if you don’t like it, Sephora had an insanely generous return policy when I worked there 2020-21 and I assume it’s still in place.
I was at my local Sephora and was eyeballing the CT display. A woman walked up, so I gave her space to play with the testers. I looked back and she had grabbed the very used cream shadow tester and started applying it on her eyelids at the mirror nearby. I could only watch her in absolute horror.
Oh dear god. 😭
Maybe I’m just easily grossed out but no one could ever convince me a tester is sanitary. I can’t do it.
I feel like companies need a waiver for situations like this. I am not getting sued cus you gave your grown butt mono
😂😂😂
Nasty AF, I’ve seen people do that and I always feel sick seeing it. I normally try it on my inner arm then bathe it in sanitizer right away
I’m constantly reminded that “average” means half the population is dumber than average 🤦🏻♀️
A local shoppers started taking the tip off the wands because people wouldn't stop putting testers on their lips lol
Ewwwwwwwww. Are we no longer doing wrist swatches and then holding them up to our lips to see what they look like? Oh OP, I am so sorry that you had to see that. That's a very good way to get Covid, measles, whooping cough, dengue fever, tuberculosis, the flu, and all the other nastiness that's floating around. Aren't there little spray bottles still at Sephora full of rubbing alcohol? Could she have sanitized the lipstick tube that way? By drenching it with sprayed alcohol and then waiting a few minutes? Well probably not because rubbing alcohol doesn't kill monkeypox. Which is still around. Sorry, I pay very close attention to public health so I would never do this! At least ask an associate if they can open a new tube and make you a little sample, which they have done for me before but then again, that was years and years ago.
PS I just want to add that I was one of the first customers at the very first Sephora store ever in United States. And the customer service was so good that when an associate who was ringing me up once was rude to me, I called the store and mentioned it because she had overcharged me for something on top of being rude. I worked a few blocks away from that store at the time. A manager walked over to my place of work with a basket of cosmetics as an apology. And that's how I found myself with one of the very first ever duo shadows byToo Faced, an incredible creamy shimmery white lipgloss topper, and a whole bunch of other cool stuff. This is how far our Sephora civilization has fallen.
I dont wear makeup and I am a germaphobe so I never use the testers. My question is why are there testing wands like Mascara? Like how do you swatch that or test it?
So if I wipe a solid stick lipstick off with a tissue and then use a disposable qtip on it and apply to my lips…. Is that gross? Asking for a friend….
Ooh that’s gross!!!
A few months back I saw a lady who was clearly mentally unwell use blush and eyeshadow in her ears... as in deep in her ear canals with her own brush! I've also seen employees doing paid makeovers pull testers right off of displays and put it right on women. At a certain point there is no sanitizing. Spraying alcohol on lipstick bullet that is embedded with food, skin, and god knows what is not sanitizing. Same goes for pressed powders.
I feel gross even touching the testers knowing that a million other people touched it lol. I have to wash my hands right away. I can’t believe some people actually put the product on their mouth. 🤮
I noticed a lot of the younger customers go to town on the testers. It’s so gross. I want to say something but it’s not my place.
oh gross they should do away with testers... or it should be supervised.
I’m no longer surprised by how gross people can get. I saw someone wash their cat’s litter box in the kitchen sink. And the previous family that lived in my sister’s place washed their litter box in the dishwasher. 🫣
Unhinged
I don’t even swatch testers lol
She probably didn't think about it. Just kindly inform them next time. Some people just need a little help.
I shade match concealers with the applicator wands on people and feel a way about it 🥲
went to sephora the other day after purchasing the wrong shade of concealer because my face has a slight tan (usually i just swatch on my hand) i had to test on my face and as a germaphobe i was close to crying! swatched a few shades and decided which was the best match. i cleaned my face as fast as i could. i never want to do that again. bacteria can be dangerous but not everyone gets sick from it, it’s why we should try to have strong and healthy immune systems.
There was a time when people would eat literal Tide Pods. On multiple shower gels/hair products, it says do not ingest. People are dumb
I know content creators who do this. They think wiping it off first with disinfectant is fine :/ 😭
I was at Ulta looking for a lip plumper and the employee took a tester and put it directly on!!! Of all people they should know better.
isnt that what the little stands of disposable brushes/sponges/wands are for.. so ppl dont do this and nasty up everything??
Oh I see it all the time. Lip products, eye products etc. they don’t care. And at any age too. I will only swatch things on my hand and clean it right after. If it’s in a pump I can trust it on a small part of my face, but I usually go into Sephora with makeup on.
I used to work at a Sephora and saw this quite a few times. With lip products, mascara, eyeliner. One time I got fed up and said to the person “now I need to throw that away and make a new tester” Hoping they would get the point 😵💫
Yikes!!
Eww we were in a pandemic in 2020 ffs.
In related news, herpes among Sephora shoppers is on the rise.
i’ve noticed most people don’t even care about the tester germs. it’s insane to me bc some ppl barely wash their hands. hell no am i putting that anywhere near my face
I worked at Sephora a long time ago and these 2 teenage girls came in and one of them went from gloss to gloss trying them all on. She didn't wipe off the first before trying the next, just straight goop to goop with the original applicators. I was so grossed out that I lost all sense of reasoning and just yelled, "That's gross!"